Means for automatically operating bottom hopper discharge doors during travel of railway cars



Aug. 5, 1969 E. M GRATH 3,459,316

MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING BO TOM HOPPER DISCHARGE I DOORS DURING TRAVEL OF RAILWAY CARS Filed on. 31 1967 a Sheets-Sheet 1 I mum!" 3 I, l I --4..L....

I I [I l o l s O N I l N NVENTOR.

EARLE MQGRATH ATTORNEY Aug. 5, 1969 E. M GRATH MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING BOTTOM 'HOPPER DISCHARGE DOORS DURING TRAVEL OF RAILWAY CARS 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 31. 1967 lll' ll llull ll Aug. 5, 1969 E. M GRATH MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING BOTTOM HOPPER DISCHARGE DOORS DURING TRAVEL OF RAILWAY CARS 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 31. 1967 Aug. 5, 1969 E. M GRATH MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING BOTTOM HOPPER DISCHARGE DOORS DURING TRAVEL OF RAILWAY CARS 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed 001;. 31. 1967 Aug. 5, 1969 E. M GRATH MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING BOTTOM HOPPER DISCHARGE DOORS DURING TRAVEL 0F RAILWAY CARS 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 31. 1967 FIG. 6.

EJIIE m M Aug. 5, 1969 s. M GRATH MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING BOTTOM HOPPER DISCHARGE DOORS DURING TRAVEL OF RAILWAY CARS 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Oct. 31. 1967 E. M GRATH Aug. 5, 1969 MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING BOTTOM HOPPER DISCHARGE DOORS DURING TRAVEL OF RAILWAY CARS 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Oct. 31. 1967 FIG. I0.

E. M GRATH 3,459,316 MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING BO TOM HOPPER DISCHARGE Aug. 5, 1969 DOORS DURING TRAVEL OF RAILWAY CARS 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Oct. 31. 1967 wv\ S a:

United States Patent US. Cl. 214-63 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A railway hopper car having bottom discharge doors which are opened and closed automatically during movement of the car along the track. A horizontally extending operating shaft is connected to the doors for moving the doors between open and closed positions and a vertical shaft is operatively connected to each end of the operating shaft to effect rotation of the operating shaft. Each vertical shaft has arms extending therefrom and trackside actuating means along the side of the track engages selective arms to rotate the vertical shafts and effect opening and closing of the doors during travel of the car.

BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Heretofore, various means have been employed to automatically open and close bottom dump doors of a railway hopper car during travel. For example, solenoid actuated fluid cylinders have been operatively connected to bottom dump doors for opening and closing the doors with trackside trip means for controlling the solenoids. Also, as illustrated in US. Patent No. 3,314,558 dated Apr. 18, 1967, various type of cam means have been provided for effecting opening and closing of bottom discharge doors. One problem heretofore has involved the relatively large amount of rotation, such as around 180, required for the operating shaft in moving the doors between open and closed positions. Some prior art devices effect rotation of the door operating shaft by a wheel or in a two stage operation.

The present invention provides an arrangement for a railway hopper car in which bottom discharge doors are connected to a horizontally extending operating shaft with a single means provided to rotate the operating shaft to a full closed position of the doors from the open position thereof. This is effected by gear means between a vertical shaft and the horizontal operating shaft with an arm on the vertical shaft contacted by trackside actuating means to rotate the vertical shaft and effect rotation of the operating shaft through the gear means. The gear means between the vertical shaft and operating shaft is such that a ninety degrees (90") rotation of the vertical shaft effects a one hundred and eighty degrees (180) rotation of the operating shaft. A vertical shaft may be positioned adjacent each end of the operating shaft with one vertical shaft effecting rotation of the operating shaft in one direction to open the doors and the other vertical shaft effecting rotation of the operating shaft in an opposite direction to close the doors.

It is an object of the present invention to provide means to automatically open and close bottom discharge doors of a railway hopper car during travel of the car.

A further object of this invention is to provide such means which may be actuated with either end of the hopper car being the leading end with respect to the direction of travel of the hopper car.

An additional object of-this invention is the provision 3,459,316 Patented Aug. 5, 1969 of means to rotate the operating shaft around one hun-' dred and eighty degrees in a single continuous operation.

The invention accordingly comprises the constructions hereinafter described, the scope of the invention being indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which one of various possible embodiments of the invention is illustrated.

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a covered hopper railway car having bottom discharge outlet structures comprising the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged end elevation of one of the bottom discharge outlets shown in FIGURE 1 and illustrating the bottom dump doors in closed position;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged end elevation similar to FIGURE 2 but illustrating the bottom dump doors in open position;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged top plan of the bottom outlet structure shown in FIGURES 2 and 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged side elevation of the bottom outlet structure shown in FIGURES 2-4;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan with the upper cover broken away of the gear mechanism adjacent one side of the bottom outlet structure;

FIGURE 7 is a side elevation with the side cover broken away of the gear mechanism shown in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a schematic illustrating in plan the opening and closing of the bottom dump doors;

FIGURE 9 is a top plan of the closing cam mechanism for automatically closing the bottom dump doors;

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged section of the pivoted end portion of the cam mechanism illustrated in FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 11 is a side elevation of the trackside tripper on one side of the track for initially effecting opening of the bottom dump doors;

FIGURE 12 is a top plan of the tripper illustrated in FIGURE 11;

FIGURE 13 is an end elevation of the tripper illustrated in FIGURES 11 and 12 and showing an inclined cam for engaging trip means carried by the railway car; and

FIGURE 14 is a partial end elevation of the tripper on the other side of the track.

Referring to the drawings for a better understanding of this invention, a covered hopper railway car is generally indicated 10 in FIGURE 1 and has a plurality of hoppers 12 separated by partitions 14. Hoppers 12 have slope sheets 16 leading to bottom discharge openings 18. A lower generally rectangular flange 19 extends about each bottom discharge opening 18 and a bottom outlet structure generally indicated 20 and comprising the present invention controls the discharge of lading from hoppers 12.

Each bottom outlet structure 20 has an upper generally rectangular flange 22 secured to superjacent flange 19, such as by welding, and a generally rectangular vertical wall 24 extends downwardly from flange 22 about the periphery of outlet structure 20- A pair of bottom dump doors 26 and 28 have upper plates 30 and 32 fitting tightly against wall 24 when doors 26 and 28 are closed. L-shaped arms 34 have one end pivoted at 36 to wall 24 and the other end pivoted on stub shafts 38 extending outwardly from doors 26 and 28. Thus, doors 26, 28 are supported on stub shafts 38 for movement between open and closed positions.

To actuate doors 26, 28, an operating shaft 40* extends between the ends of bottom discharge structure. A gen erally inverted U-shaped hood 42 is mounted over shaft 40 and secured between opposed portions of wall 24. Fixed to operating shaft 40 adjacent each end thereof are crank arms 44, 46 which rotate with shaft 40. Each arm 44, 46 includes a pair of laterally spaced portions receiving an end of a bent link 48, 50 therebetween and pivotally connected thereto by respective pins 52, 54. Links 48, 50 form an overcenter toggle linkage with respect to operating shaft 40 and releasably lock doors 26, 28 in closed position. Secured to each end of operating shaft 40 is a bevel gear 56. Gear box or housing 58 extends about bevel gear 56 adjacent one end of shaft 40 on the right hand side of railway car with respect to the direction of travel as shown in FIGURES 4, 5, and 8, and housing 60 extends about bevel gear 56 adjacent the opposite or left hand side of railway car 10. Brackets 61 support housings 58, 60 from adjacent slope sheets 16. Engaging the lower side of bevel gear 56 in housing 58 is a segment bevel gear 62 fixed to shaft 64. Engaging the upper side of bevel gear 56 in housing 60 is a segment bevel gear 66 fixed to a vertical shaft 68. Shaft 64 has a lower closing arm 70 with a roller 72 on its outer end.

Mounted about shaft 64 within housing 58 is a tripper arm 74. Arm 74 has a sleeve 76 fitting about a key 77 on shaft 64. Arm 74 rotates with shaft 64 but may move vertically along shaft 64 on key 77. Compression spring 78 urges arm 74 and sleeve 76 downwardly against segment gear 62. Referring particularly to FIGURES 2 and 3, arm 74 extends through a generally horizontal slot '80 in the wall of housing 58 and in a reinforcing band 82 secured to housing 58. In the closed position of doors 26, 28, arm 74 is urged downwardly within a downward extending indentation 84 at an end of slot 80. Thus, arm 74 must first be moved upwardly along key 77 before arm 74 and shaft 64 may be rotated to actuate operating shaft 40 for opening and closing of doors 26, 28.

As shown in FIGURE 5, vertical shaft 68 has a segment gear 66 in engagement with the upper portion of bevel gear 56. A tripper arm 86 has a sleeve 88 fixed to shaft 68 and thus, does not move vertically along shaft 68. Arm '86 extends through a horizontal slot 89 through the wall of housing 60 and through a reinforcing band 90. A closing arm 92 is carried by the lower end of shaft 68 and has a roller 94 on its free end.

To open doors 26, 28, a trackside tripper mechanism generally indicated 96 is illustrated in FIGURES 11-13 and is mounted along one side of the railway track. Tripper 96 inludes a fixed vertical support 98 having a lever 100 pivoted thereon at 102. Lever 100- is biased upwardly by a compression spring 104 within a telescoping housing 106 pivoted at 108 to arm 100. Mounted on the free end of arm 100 is an inclined cam 110 which is adapted to contact tripper arm 74 and move tripper arm 74 upwardly out of indentation 84. Then, upstanding lug 112 at the end of cam 110 contacts arm 74 to rotate arm 74 and shaft 64.

Links 48, 50 form an overcenter toggle arrangement with respect to operating shaft 40 and in the closed position of doors 26, 28 as shown in FIGURE 2 are moved past a dead center position with respect to operating shaft 40 with the weight of the lading on doors 26, 28 urging the doors to a closed position. Thus, a relatively small rotation of shaft 40 from the closed position of doors 26, 28 will move links 48, 50 past dead center position to a position in which the doors will swing to open position by gravity. Therefore, lug 112 only need rotate shaft 64 a relatively small amount to effect opening of doors 26, 2-8.

A separate tripper mechanism indicated 96A is mounted on the opposite side of the track slightly forward of tripper 96 relative to the travel of car 10 and is utilized only when the ends of the railway car are reversed and housing 58 is on the left hand side of the car with respect to its direction of travel. In this event with housing 60 on the right hand side of car 10, arm 86 is contacted by tripper 96 to rotate shaft 40 for opening doors 26, 2-8. However, arm 74 of housing 58 must first be lifted from indentation 84 as rotation of shaft 40 effects simultaneous rotation of shafts 64 and 68. Cam 96A thus functions to lift tripper arm 74 from indentation 84 without rotating arm 74 and thereby permit tripper arm 86 to rotate shaft 40 for opening of doors 26, 28. Referring to FIGURE 14, tripper 96A has an inclined cam 114 to contact and lift arm 74 when housing 58 is on the side of the car opposite that shown in the drawings. Tripper 96A does not contact arm '86 and in the event tripper arm 74 engages tripper 96A, arm 74 is not rotated by tripper 96A. Indentation 84 forms a safety feature as inadvertent tripping of arms 74, 86 by contact is prevented until arm 74 is lifted from indentation 84.

To close doors 26, 28 after the lading has been discharged, a trackside closing cam generally indicated 116 is positioned along the side of the track opposite tripper 96 as shown in FIGURES 8-10. Closing cam 116 includes an inclined fixed cam portion 118 and a movable inclined cam portion 120. Cam portion 120 is pivoted at 122 to fixed portion 118 and is urged outwardly about pivot 12 2 by spring means generally indicated 124. As shown 1n FIGURE 8, roller 94 contacts cam portion 118 to rotate shaft 68 and operating shaft 40 for closing of doors 26, 28. Arm 92 is rotated by closing cam 116 to the position shown in FIGURE 8 with shaft 68 rotating about ninety degrees. To move doors 26, 28 from the open position of FIGURE 3 to the closed position shown in FIG- URE 2, it is necessary to rotate operating shaft 40 around one hundred and eighty (180) degrees. Thus the gear ratio between bevel gears 56 and segment gears 62, 66 is such that rotation of shaft 64 or shaft 68 around ninety (90) degrees effects a rotation of shaft 40 of around one hundred and eighty (180) degrees. Movable cam portion 120 provides an override for arm 92 to insure that shaft 68 is fully rotated to the full closed position of doors 26, 28 thereby insuring that the overcenter toggle linkage moves past a dead center position. If shaft 68 has been rotated by arm 92 to the full closed position of doors 26, 28, cam portion 120 will be urged from the path of arm 92. In the event of a reversal of the leading end of railway car 10, arm 70 will contact closing cam 116 and operate in a manner similarly to arm 92.

In operation, referring particularly to FIGURE 8 in which the direction of travel of car 10 is indicated by the arrow, arm 74 engages cam to move arm 74 from indentation 84 and arm 86 passes over cam 114. Then lug 112 contacts arm 74 to rotate shaft 64 and thereby effect rotation of shaft 40 and swinging of doors 26, 28 by gravity to the full open position shown in FIGURE 3 for discharging the lading by gravity. Shaft 68 and arms 86, 92 are rotated by shaft 40 to the position shown in FIGURE 8 in which arm 92 extends outwardly from car 10. After unloading of the lading, arm 93 contacts closing cam 116 and rotates shaft 68 and operating shaft 40 to the closed position of doors 26, 28. Shaft 40 rotates shaft 64 and arms 70, 74 to the closed position of doors 26, 28 are shown in FIGURE 2. In this position, doors 26, 28 may again be opened by contact of tripper arm 74 with a trackside tripper 96. Thus, doors 26, 28 may be opened and closed automatically during travel of railway car 10.

In the event it is desired to operate doors 26, 28 manually, means may be provided to pry arm 74 upwardly and then to move either arm 70 or arm 92 manually for rotation of shaft 40.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results obtained.

As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A railway hopper car having a bottom door beneath a lower opening for the discharge of lading, means mounting the door on the car for swinging moment between open and closed positions relative to said lower opening for discharge of lading during movement of the car along a track, an operating shaft mounted on the car extending in a horizontal direction transversely of the car for substantially the entire width thereof, a linkage connecting the door to said shaft for swinging of the door between open and closed positions upon rotation of the operating shaft, a vertical shaft adjacent each end of said operating shaft mounted for rotation about a vertical axis and extending at right angles to the longitudinal axis of said operating shaft, gear means operatively connecting the vertical shafts to said operating shaft for rotating said operating shaft in opposite directions, an arm extending generally laterally from each vertical shaft, trackside actuating means on one side of the track to engage the arm adjacent one end of the operating shaft for rotating the associated vertical shaft and opening of the door during movement of the car and rotation of the operating shaft in one direction, and separate trackside actuating means on the other side of the track to engage the arm adjacent the other end of the operating shaft for rotating the associated vertical shaft and subsequent closing of the door during movement of the car and rotation of the operating shaft in an opposite direction.

2. A railway hopper car as set forth in claim 1 wherein means prevent rotation of said vertical shaft for effecting opening of said door until said associated arm has been moved vertically thereby preventing inadvertent opening of said door.

3. A railway hopper car as set forth in claim 1 wherein said operating shaft rotates around one hundred and eighty degrees (180) in one direction to effect opening of said door and around one hundred and eighty degrees (180) in an opposite direction to effect closing of said door, and said vertical shaft rotates between around eighty degrees (80) and one hundred and twenty degrees (120) for effecting rotation of said operating shaft one hundred and eighty degrees (180) and opening and closing of said door.

4. A railway hopper car as set forth in claim 1 wherein said separate trackside actuating means on the other side of the track includes a horizontally extending cam having an inwardly sloping inner face with respect to the direction of travel of the hopper car, the adjacent arm engaging said cam for rotating the associated vertical shaft to close the door.

5. A railway hopper car as set forth in claim 1 whereby said separate trackside actuating means includes resilient means adjacent the trailing end of the cam with respect to the travel of the hopper car and adapted to 'move inwardly upon contact with said arm after the rotation of the vertical shaft and closing of the door thereby permitting said arm to move past the cam.

6. A railway hopper car as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said vertical shafts has a pair of arms thereon, one of said pair of arms adapted to engage said first mentioned trackside actuating means and the other of said pair of arms adapted to engage said separate trackside actuating means whereby said doors may be actuated from either direction of travel and from either side of the car.

" 7. A railway hopper car having a pair of opposed bottom doors beneath a lower opening for the discharge of lading, means mounting the doors on the car for swinging moment between open and closed positions relative to said lower opening for discharge of lading during movement of the car along a track, an operating shaft mounted on the car extending in a horizontal direction transversely of the car for substantially the entire width thereof, an overcenter linkage connecting the doors to said shaft for swinging of the doors between open and closed positions upon rotation of the operating shaft, a vertical shaft adjacent an end of said operating shaft mounted for rotation about a vertical axis and extending at right angles to the longitudinal axis of said operating shaft, gear means operatively connecting the vertical shaft to said operating shaft for rotating said operating shaft, an arm extending generally laterally from said vertical shaft adapted to rotate the associated vertical shaft to effect rotation of the operating shaft, and trackside actuating means on one side of the track to engage said arm for rotating the associated vertical shaft and operating shaft to effect closing of the doors during movement of the car.

= '8. A railway hopper car as set forth in claim 7 wherein said gear means comprises a bevel gear adjacent the end of the operating shaft and a cooperating bevel gear on the vertical shaft.

9. A railway hopper car as set forth in claim 8 wherein said operating shaft rotates around one hundred and eighty degrees 180) to effect closing of said doors and said vertical shaft rotates around ninety degrees for effecting rotation of the operating shaft one hundred and eighty degrees to the closed position of the doors.

10. A railway hopper car having a pair of opposed bottom doors beneath a lower opening for the discharge of lading, means mounting the doors on the car for swinging moment between open and closed positions relative to said lower opening for discharge of lading during movement of the car along a track, an operating shaft mounted on the car extending in a horizontal direction transversely of the car for substantially the entire width thereof, an overcenter linkage connecting the doors to said shaft for swinging of the doors between open and closed positions upon rotation of the operating shaft, a vertical shaft adjacent an end of said operating shaft mounted for rotation about a vertical axis and extending at right angles to the longitudinal axis of said operating shaft, gear means operatively connecting the vertical shaft to said operating shaft for rotating said operating shaft, a pair of arms extending generally laterally from said vertical shaft adapted to rotate the associated vertical shaft to effect rotation of the operating shaft, trackside actuating means to engage one arm for roating the associated vertical shaft and effect opening of the doors only during movement of the car in one direction, and separate trackside actuating means to engage the other arm for rotating the associated vertical shaft and effect closing of the doors only during movement of the car in an opposite direction.

11. A railway hopper car as set forth in claim 10 wherein a vertical shaft is positioned adjacent each end of said operating shaft, each shaft having a pair of arms with one shaft effecting opening of the doors and the other shaft effecting subsequent closing of the doors during travel of the car in one direction.

12. A railway hopper car having a pair of opposed bottom doors beneath a lower opening for the discharge of lading, means mounting the doors on the car for swinging moment between open and closed positions relative to said lower opening for discharge of lading during travel of the car along a track, an operating shaft mounted on the car extending in a horizontal direction transversely of the car for substantially the entire width thereof, a linkage connecting the doors to said shaft for swinging the doors between open and closed positions upon rotation of the operating shaft, a generally vertical shaft adjacent each end of said operating sha-ft mounted for rotation about a generally vertical axis, means operatively connecting the vertical shafts to said operating shaft for rotating said operating shaft, trackside actuating means operatively engaging one vertical shaft for rotating the operating shaft in one direction to effect opening of the doors during travel of the car in one direction, and separate trackside actuating means operatively engaging the other vertical shaft for rotating the operating shaft in an opposite direction to effect subsequent closing of the doors upon further travel of the car in said one direction.

13. A railway hopper car having a bottom door beneath a lower opening for the discharge of lading, means mounting the door on the car for swinging moment between open and closed positions relative to said lower opening for discharge of lading during movement of the car along a track, an operating shaft mounted on the car extending in a horizontal direction transversely of the car for substantially the entire width thereof, a linkage connecting the door to said shaft for swinging of the door between open and closed positions upon rotation of the operating shaft, shaft engaging means adjacent each end of said operating shaft for effecting rotation of said operating shaft each shaft engaging means having a pair of generally laterally extending arms, trackside actuating means engaging one arm of the shaft engaging means on one end of the operating shaft for rotating the operating shaft in one direction to effect opening of the door during movement of the car in one direction, and separate trackside actuating means to engage one arm of the shaft engaging means on the opposite end of the operating shaft for rotating the operating shaft in an opposite direction to elfect closing of the door during further movement of the car in said one direction, said trackside actuating means and said separate trackside actuating means engaging the other arms of both "said shaft engaging means for rotation of said operating shaft upon reversal of the leading end of the car with respect to movement of the car in said one direction thereby to permit either end .of the car to be the leading end with respect to the direction of movement of the car.

14. A railway h'opper car as set forth in claim 13 wherein said one arm of the shaft engaging means on one end of the operating shaft is moved in a generall horizontal direction to effect opening of said door, and safety means are provided to prevent movement of said one arm in a generally horizontal direction until said one arm is moved vertically thereby to minimize inadvertent opening of said door.

References Cited UNITED sTATEs PATENTS 4/1967 Dorsey 2l463 5/1967 Fritz 10524l ROBERT G. SHERIDAN, Primary Examiner 

